This invention permits to a valve having a valve member positioned by structure including a two-stage operating lever which is positionable by a solenoid of medium force and moderate length stroke. The solenoid acts on a longer lever arm of the operating lever when maximum torque is required for movement of the valve member and, thereafter, when lesser torque is required, the solenoid acts on a shorter arm of the operating lever to cause increased movement of the valve member relative to the stroke of the solenoid.
Rotary control valves for directional control are known in the art, including the valves shown in McClocklin U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,892,259 and 4,049,019, owned by the assignee of this application. The prior patents show such valves which are manually operable and, thus, the force required for rotating the valve member of the rotary valve to and from desired positions is manually applied. For remote control of valves, it is known to use hydraulic motors or solenoids. In replacing the manual operator of the prior rotary valves, a designer of such remote control would select either hydraulic motors or solenoids capable of generating sufficient torque for moving the valve member and also having sufficient stroke for moving the valve operator through the desired distance to cause resulting rotation of the valve member. These requirements lead to increased cost and size of components.